Sue the T-Rex and NAPA

So I finally got my tail down to the National Academy for the Performing Arts (aka NAPA) today to visit Sue the T-Rex. Dear old Sue – and I do mean old – is, I have to say, quite impressive. Now I have seen other dinosaur fossils before on vacation. There has been some speculation that the Sue on display at NAPA is not the original Sue but one of the copies but regardless, it is impressive to look at. If I recall the stats correctly, Sue stands 13 feet high at the hips and is 42 feet in length. This makes Sue not just an old lady but a big one too – notwithstanding the idea that given one of the bones they found, Sue may not even be a lady.

Sue the T-Rex at NAPA

Well, what of the exhibit? There’s Sue herself, and there’s a big rotating cast of the skull on display that you can touch, as well as other casts of bones you can get up close and personal with. It’s not a big display but it is interesting and worth the $60 entrance fee.

Sue aside, this was my first visit to NAPA – the National Academy for the Performing Arts. You know, the same NAPA that cost a fortune and was used to host the Opening Ceremony of the 2009 Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference (CHOGM). I unfortunately have to say that the criticism of the place seems to be justified. There are already stains on some of the silver exterior panels, the fountain water urgently requires changing and the interior is frankly a little plain. Granted, I only went as far as the outer halls of one section where the T-Rex display was but for the cost and the architecture I expected something more posh beyond the glass doors. I mean, we’re talking about Vinyl flooring and fuzzing carpets here.

National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA)

At least on the outside we have a nice landmark…right? Ah well.